woensdag 24 augustus 2011

Barrage of rockets hits Southern Israel; IDF kills Islamic Jihad member in Gaza

Residents run for shelter during a Grad rocket attack in Be'er Sheva, March 23, 2011.





A renewed barrage of rockets hit Israel's south on Wednesday evening. Two grad rockets fell in open areas, one near Ofakim and one south of Ashkelon. Rockets also fell in the Eshkol Regional Council. There were no reports of casualties or damage.


Palestinian sources reported on Wednesday evening that a member of the Islamic Jihad was killed by an IDF strike in Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in the Gaza Strip. Shortly afterwards a Grad rocket was launched toward Be'ee Sheva and was intercepted by the Iron Dome system.

Also on Wednesday, security officials said that the Islamic Jihad operative who was killed in an IAF airstrike early Wednesday morning was responsible for transfer of funds used in last Thursday's attacks.

The operative was identified as 34-year-old Ismael al-Asmar.
Security officials said that the decision was made to target al-Asmar due to intelligence that he was planning to initiate another attack from Sinai in the coming days.

Al-Asmar was targeted while he was in a vehicle in the western part of Rafah in the Gaza Strip. One additional person was wounded.
Later on Wednesday morning, two mortar shells fired from Gaza exploded in the Eshkol Regional Council, causing light damage but no injuries.

IAF aircraft targeted two militants in seperate locations on Wednesday in the northern Gaza who had launched projectiles at Israel shortly before, the IDF said in a statement.

Source: Haaretz

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